River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1887-10-27
ANElEPhANr STORY.
4 Singular sight Enjoyed From tre paIae
at Mandafuy.

lately belonging to the depose1 mon
arch, and the splendid quarters in
which they were located, and my sur
prise was still more increased when |
was introduced to. and entered into
conversation with the gentleman who
presided over this extensive establish
ment. He turned out to be a real
native Of the Isle of Wight. The white
or mouse-colOred elephant was there.
of course; but show are the mighty
fallenr He was no longer in mag
nifcent pavilion, alone in his grandeur,
surrounded by many scryitors Of the
king; on the contrary, he was In a
stall Ike the rest of the beasts, and, il
any thing. less noticed than many OF
his finer brethren. One more anecdotC
about this wonderful beast, and have
done with elephants. Shortly before
our arrival. one Of these animals had
greatly disgraced himself by refusing tC
. carry certain weight of goods which
had been piled on his back. There i,
the regulation weight, and the beast,
know to an ounce what they ought e
carry. and if any of the mahoEts at
tempt TO p, { surplus amount on his o.
their backs, ii is Immediately shot ontt
the ground. The animal in question
had been duly laden with a weigh
which was under the regulation scale
but although ii had been twice weighed
rs Mrs. Camp would say. before hi.
own eyes. he still refused 10 carry it
This was too much for even his indul
gent driver, SO he accordingly re
ported, and just rs we arrived he was
about TO be tried for his cxtraor' lar,
and obstinate conduct. Several Gle
phants were led out into large court
yard, forming kind Of circle around
the delinquent, who seemed already Il
feel his position acutely, for he glanced
anxiously from time to time at hi,
mahout. who was yisibly affected ant
who stood by his head. \ karen pre-
sided over the court-martial. and reat
aloud the indictment against tn,
offender, the elephants which conSti
tuted the jury apparently listening
with great attention.. After the state
ment WAS finished and the mahou
examined, who by the way. gave hi.
evidence with great reluctance, III,
karen decided that the case had beer
distinctly proved, and the culprit wa
adjudged the punishment Of twenll
strokes. Upon the announcement Of tbs
verdict, the jury marched in most sol
emn manner TO adistant part Of the yarC
and returned with Il switch abont Il!
large rs a fair sized scailo!d pole. II
the meantime the mahOut had been al
dressing the offender. who was new
weeping copioasly, large drops Of tear
falling from his eyes, and occasioaall,
shrill and peculiar sound issued frou
his capacious throat. The cxecu;ioner:
of the law were at hand. aad stool
about twelve to fourteen fee; apart, cacl
balancing with peculiar nicely in hi
trunk the aforesaid switch. The cul
prit was led up to the place. and - j,
passed number one there was soun,
which rcscmblcd somewhat Il sharl
clap Of thundc; il was the first bioY
delivered by the dread myrmidons o
the law. The blow was followed by
sharp, shril scream, although thcr,
was evidently IN attempt on the par
Of the culprit 70 suppress any cXhibi
ton of pain. This Punishment con
tinucd until the whole Of the sentenc,
had been carried out: Although | fel
considerable sympathy with the uufor
tunatc delinquent. was at the SAINT
time intensely amused with the thor
ough busincs5-ii!,c air with which thest
ministers If justice carried ont the sen
tence. There were No light blows dc
liyercd; but as a matter of fact, cacl
elephant determined to administer f,
heavier amount OF punishment than III.
neighbor, and the sly twinkle in IL,
eye as the blow was delivered was !
sight 90 see. -Prihrose Kqga.ine.
CURIOUS CEREMoNIALs.
Annamese Customs That saver Much o.
Another World Than Ours.
The curious philosophical views o.
life which appear 10 he common 20 the
races of the Chinese stock, and tht
elaborate ccrcmouials BY wi ich they
are symboized and emphasized. Give
a rare interest to all that relates e. to
manners and customs of those peoples,
whatever may be their particula.
nationality. Nowhere are these foat.
ures more marked. or do they savol
more of another world than ours. than
i'm AMMAN. We are indebted 10 certain
French writer's. whom military and
political events have given rare op-
portunitics to observe. for some fresf
and original accounts of the inhabitants
of this country, and of their character.
istic beliefs and usages NJ. Henry II.
d Estrey has given, in the Rcru.
!Scicntifpue, descriptions OF the pi'iaci,
pal ceremonies prescribed in the rites
To commemorate the most important
events in life. which are six IN ngmbcr,
viz: |. Gcq nc, or the imposition Of
n pin in the Embarrassing of q maiden
on her reaching puberty; >. GEE Qgga,
or the imposition Of the virilc bonnet
on the head Of young man when he
reaches adult age; 3 gum. or lhe
feast in celebration Of obtaining a first
employment !. Hon. or the marriage
ceremonies; ;. Idaq. or funerA ccre.
monies; 6. re. or the ceremony Of I'm.
ccstral worship.
The first two ceremonies are celebra.
ted BY the relativcs. in the family. When
a maiden has reached the are OF fiji
teen years. the father and mother adorr
the two affairs erected tn the ancestors
of their resp .ciiye families. iaY;to the
hear relatives. and select, rs president
of the ceremony, an aged lady. uf hi RI
reputc for virtue AMI good sense.
While the lights are BURNING among
perfumes. two masters Of ceremonies.
one nj each end of the altar. call OF
the order fixed hy the rites. The father
and mother then come up to the affairs.
and say in lov toac: 1T is our daty
10 inform our ancestors that oa
daughter Is. according 10 the rites.
manageable from this day. and that
tn are of fifteen years, which she has
reached. gives her the right 20 wear
the pin" They then pros rate them.
selves four times. anl the other rela.
tives follow. initiating them. Next. the
maiden is brought up To the altar aud
the lady who presidrs over the ccrc-
mony. or sometimes the mother her.
self. takes the pin from off th, altar
a 4